Although the inventor herein is not aware of any device that is similar in appearance or function to the devices of the instant invention, there is at least two patents dealing with the containment or control of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,077,791 to Glaauw, Issued Nov. 4, 1913 describes a cellular dam. The dam is constructed of independent cells which can be filled with water to provide weight to the dam site and provide a containment for the water above such a dam. The object of the invention is to provide hollow cells that can be filled with water to provide weight, but which occupy space in the dam configuration that would normally be filled with concrete or the like, thus cutting down on the amount of concrete that needs to be used to construct the dam. The Glaauw invention also provides a filling pipe on the upside of the stream and an overflow pipe on the down side of the stream and also provides conduits which connect the individual cells together. This disclosure is distinguished by virtue of the fact that at the very least, the components of the patented dam do not appear to be portable, and in fact, are covered with concrete or earth, and do not provide a barrier per se to the water. Such a barrier is provided only in conjunction with concrete or some other type of barrier.
U.S. Pat. 4,031,676, issued Jun. 28, 1977 to Dally, discloses a water blocking device which is a triangular-shaped structure in two different shapes which may be interlocked to form small dam-like barriers. Although highly portable, and interconnectable, this device does not provide a weighting system which would hold the device in place, and therefore, it can only be used for minor containment of water and the like.